YORKTOWN, Va. -- A man who quickly accelerated in a sport utility vehicle with a cable around his neck decapitated himself after a domestic dispute in Yorktown, authorities said Tuesday.

York-Poquoson Sheriff Danny Diggs said a deputy responding to a call of a domestic disturbance Tuesday was taking a statement from the man's ex-wife when another deputy driving by noticed an SUV pulling a utility trailer that was on fire. Authorities say the man started the fire.

A firefighter noticed a cable around the man's neck that was attached to a tree. When deputies tried to get the man to exit the SUV, he accelerated and was pulled from the vehicle and decapitated, they say. The SUV kept going for about 150 yards.

Diggs said he arrived to a grisly scene, adding the cable was of the type that could be used to hoist an automobile engine.